Electric timing apparatus



E. W. LANDMEIER ELECTRIC TIMING APPARATUS June 15, 1948.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1945 INVENTOR.

June 15, 1948. E. w. LANDMEIER ELECTRIC TIMING APPARATUS Filed March 5,1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a 1 INVENTOR.I

Patented June 15, 1948 ELECTRIC TlliIIN G APPARATUS Edwin W. Landmeier,Lakeside Park, Ky., as-

signor to The Wadsworth Electric Manufactu'r ing (30;, Inc, Covin'gton,Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Application March 5, 1945, Serial No.581,107

Claims; 1

This invention relates to a timing mechanism, and is directedparticularly to a continuously operating timer which may be set to closeaswitchat a given moment and to open the switch at the expiration of-apredetermined interval of time. Theinvention is disclosed in the'form ofan ap paratus operable throughout a twenty-four hour cycle for openingand closing theswitch which it controls'at given hours of the day; forinstance, the apparatus finds usage as a controller for-electric'lightsor a sign in a store or building, being set to turn on the lights atdusk and turn them off at dawn. Other uses, and timing cycles other thanthe'twenty-four hour cycle, which is selected as a representative one,may be employedas required by theconditions to be controlled.

The principal purpose of this invention hasbeen- 1 ing, and also havinglimited relative movement in I a lateral direction. Oneor both of thecooperating" contacts present laterally inclined or crowned meetingfaces such that, as they are brought into engagement, a wiping movementoccurs at theinner face which cleanses the contactsurfaces and therebymaintains them in an efficient conductive condition. This arrangement isemployed in order that the timer will continueto give-reliableserviceeven though its contacts are exposedto unfavorable weather conditions orto current of such density that switches of the usual construction wouldsoon fail because of pitting; surface oxidation or corrosion.

In the preferred construction of the apparatus, a time cycle dial isemployed having thereon a pair of controller elements which operatetherewith and which are adjustable so that theymay be set'tothetime'when theswitch is to' be'opened and-closed. The switch contacts arebiasedtowardon'e'another, both are movable longitudinally and one'of'the contactsis latched in an open position through a pawl actuated fromthetimer dial; wherebytit, approaches the other for switch closure when"released by the pawl. The second 2 of the contacts is operated from acam engaged by the other control element of the timer dial in suchmanner that it is moved toward the first; thereafter it mov'esthefirstto its latched position and finally is-itsel-f-released, whereupon itwithdraws to open theswitch'. This construction provides a snap actionefiect in causingthe contacts to make and break engagement very suddenlyto minimize arcing.

The invention-contemplates switches of both the single and double polevariety, the releasing pawl-which controls switch closure being commonto both switches of a double pole pair while a pair of levers,- toggle'connected and operable in unison, serves the pair of switches to controlswitch opening.

From the foregoing discussion of the salient features of the improvementand from the following detailed description of the drawings in which apreferred'embodiment of the invention is illustrated, those skilled inthe art readily will comprehend the various modifications to which theinvention is-susceptible.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a-fro'nt elevation of the timer.

Figure-2 is a rear elevation;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figiue 2 showing the switches in closedposition.

Figure 4 is a-cros's'sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figures 5, 6 and '7 are diagrammatic views, Figurefi showing therelationship of the'parts when the switches are about to close; Figure 6showing therelationship of the parts as the switches are about to beconditioned for opening; and Figure 7 showing the switches conditionedto open and on the verge of opening.

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 88 of Figure 3.

The device shown-in the drawings is assembled upon a frame indicatedgenerally at 5 comprising alowervertical portion 2, an oiiset uppervertical portion 3, and.acrossconnecting portion 4 which interconnectsthe two. The lower portion 2 of the frame has a clearance aperture 5therein and, to one side, carries an insulation panel'B which isfastened in place by means of the'rivets l. The panel carries a groundterminal 8, input terminals .'i9 through which current is supplied tothe timer switch and output terminals Ill8 which' are adapted forinterconnection with the' circuit that the switch is to control. Atpoints behind the insulation panel 5 the lower portion 2 of the framehas terminal clearance apertures ll. Terminals 8; iland i9 are of usualconstruction comprising screws l2 carrying connectors l3 which arelocked in place by means of the nuts I l. The heads of the screws I2bear against terminal connectors it which are in interconnection withcircuit wires of the ap 5 paratus as described at a later point in thespecification.

At the upper vertical portion 3 of the frame, a drive motor !6 ispositioned, preferably at the 4 the arm lugs 31. The dial section 25acan, therefore, be adjusted to correspond to the correct hour of theday.

In the double pole switch construction shown in the drawings two pairsof contact carriers are employed comprising upper slidable members 43,one for each pair, and respectively cooperating lower slidable membersd6. These carriers are generally of block formation, made ofinsulatfront face of the panel where it is bolted in place fi ingmaterial, and ride within slots 55 provided by means of screws H. Themotorhasa tern. minal block it extending through the platform 4 and themotor shaft passes through-the plate 'i 3 to the rearward face thereofwhere it'icarries a sprocket 20.

A bracket 2!, having a foot fastened to the platform 4 of the frame,extends upwardlyin spaced relationship to the frame back wall S andboth, at their upper portions, are bored in alignment to support ahollowsleeve 22 which extends forwardly beyond the face of theVbracketil. A secondhollow sleeve 23'is rotatably sustained within thesleeve 22 and it, in turn, rotatably. supports a shaft 24. Themiddlesleeve 23 'ofthis series has a setting dial 25 fastened to itsfor-.20 ward end and a gear 26 fastened to its back end at a. pointadjacent the outer face of the .rear

wall 3. 7

Any suitable gear trainor'speed reduction movement may be interposedbetween the pinion 26 of the drive motor and the gear 26 which drivesthe setting dial. In the construction shown in the drawings motor pinion20 isin mesh with a gear 21 having asmaller pinion 28 rigidly associatedtherewith, this couplet being mounted. for rota- 35 tion upon a shaftwhich is supported'between the frame wall 3 and'bracket' 2|. .Pinion '28drivesja large gear 29 which' is supported upon the inner shaft 24 ofthespindle assembly, and. gear,2,9 has rigidlyassociate'dpwith it apinion 1 30 which'is in mesh withfa larger gear of another couplet31-42, the smallermemberiof this couplet being in connection with thespindle gear. 25 through which the dialis rotated.- I The setting 'dial25 hasjnotches '33 at its pe-. riphery with adjacent indicia, indicatedby thev circles 3 denoting time positions. A pair of arms 35 and 35respectively are rotatably sup-. ported upon the outer barrel. 2250f.the spindle assembly. Each of the arms, 35; 36 has an ear or. detent 31extending laterally from its face for selective 'engagementin thenotches atv the, dial periphery. The armsare yieldableand areindependently, movable with respect. to one an.- other suchthat they maybe sprung from the dial face to disengage their detents from thenotches, then rotated and set to any given time. position. The arms havedrive fingers or lugs 38 and 39,.respectively, which extend laterallytherefrom, in opposite directions. Arm-35 and its finger. 39 governsswitch'closure and arm 35, with its finger 38, governs switch opening.

Asbest illustrated in Figure 4, the setting dial 25 is preferably in twosections with the outer section 25a carrying a knob Ml fixed thereto.The inner shaft 24 ,of the spindle assembly extends through the dialassembly and the knob and has a head 4! ,at its outer end which forms aseat for one end of a compression spring 42- which is housed in asuitable recess inthe knobfor the purpose of holdingthe outer dial portion 25a in contact with the portion 25, 'The shaft head 4! is spaced adistance from the outer face of the knob'tfl to allow it and thedial-portion 25a to --be pulledlaterally fromthe dial section tQ-clear-75' in the plate 2 of the frame.

As shown in Figure 8 each carrier has longitudinal flanges itextending-outwardly therefrom intermediate its front and rear faces forengagement with the face of the plate 2, while the narrower portions ofthe blocks at one side of the flanges extend through the slots. to carrymetal bridges ii. The metal bridgesare held to the carriers throughscrews 58 and, the bridges, engaging the face of plate 2 at the sidethereof opposite the longitudinal carrier-flanges, slidably sustain thecarriers on the plate. 1

The-cooperating endwise portions of the contact carriers have contacts69 thereon which are mounted upon angle pieces 5Q. These angles overliethe ends of'the carrier blocks and extend along the faces thereof wherethey are fastened in place by means of screws 5!, having washersassociated therewith to provide terminals for the electrical connectionsto the switch contacts. All of the contact carriers are biased in anupward direction by means of springs 52, one spring for each carrier.The springs for the upper set have one end thereof caught on a hook 53providedat the ledge l of the frame and the opposite end thereofcaught-on an ear 55 struck laterally from the bridge plate il. Thesprings for the lower setof carriers have one end thereof caught on anear 55 struck laterally from the bridge plate 41, as-just described,while the upper end is connected" to an ear bent laterally from theplate 2 at an edge of-the central recess 5 therein.

The contact carrier blocks are movable in their slots, but italso is tobe noted that the slots are sufiiciently wide to permit the carrierblocks to shift sidewisely or laterally. Contacts 39 of each cooperatingpair are relatively inclined or crowned at their meeting faces wherebylongitudinal movement of the contacts as they are brought intoengagement with one another is accompanied by a lateral or sidewisemovement. This sidewise movement exerts a wiping action by each contact59 upon the face of its cooperating member-and the surfaces of thecontacts thus are abraded so as to maintain themselves in a clean andconductive condition. In other words, as the carriers move'intoengagement with one another under spring pressure, they become canted orshiftedin their slots and the attendant abrading action helps to keepthe contact surfaces in an efficiently operating condition even thoughthey may be exposed to adverse atmospheric'com ditions.

For the purpose of opening and closing the contacts in accordance withthe movement of the dial 25, the arms and 36 which are driven thereby,respectively operate a switch closing lever 56 and a switch openinglever 51 or a pair of them as in the double pole construction shown.Switch closing lever 56 is an elongated piece which has-a pivot or hub53 riveted thereto intermediate its ends. This hub extends beyond theplane of the lever and has a counterturned portion' 59-which is-receivedwithin a sleeve 69 fas-- tened rigidly to the plate 2. The hub of.the...

lever isfthreadedto' receive'a screw 6| which holdsit'inplace.Theupperportion of the lever SG-eXtends-through a suitable clearanceopening in theplatformflpftheframe-to apoint where it is'en'gageablebyfingeriill of the switch closing control'arm' 33: Lever'Eii is biasedin a direction against the rotation of the dial by means'of a spring?52. When the spring is released the extremity of'tlie' lever lies'in thepath of movementiof'theaotuating finger 39. Dlu'ing dialrotation'thefinger 'engagesthe lever and carries the"lev'er'with" itagainst spring tension until pivotal r'otation'ofthe lever causes toescape the'fingerz' Thelower portion of 'thelever 56 spans'themargin'al'portions oi the lowencontact carriers, and each ofth'epiates'fl carrie'dithereon has an ear 63"oent outwardlythereirom.These ears rest against the lower edge of the'lever '55 when the switchis latched'in open position. However. as th'e'lever'is swung, ear 63 onone of the block's'cle'ar's the longitudinal edge of the lever.Toprovideior asimilar release of the other contact carrier'the loweredge of the lever 55 has recess .54 therein intowhich the car 53 onth'e'other contact carrier may move. Pivotal swingingmovement of thelever 53 under the influence of the spring is limited by a finger 65 e.endi'ng from the plate 2 which resides in siot i i; or ino'ther'suitable manner.

The function of the lever to latch the lower contact blocks switch openposition is illustrated'in Figure '5 in which it may be seen that theears 63 rest upon the outer extremity of the lever; As-th'elever isswung in a clockwise direction (Figure 6) these ears are cleared and thecontact carriers ar. permitted to spring up wardly to switch closedposition.

Levers El, through which the switch is opened, straddle the upper set ofcontact carriers and voted to the plate 2 through the rivets or vs 538.Each of the levers 5'? (for a single pole switch there is only one them)has a finger'fid positioned for engagement with the upper of an uppercontact carrier, preferably that carrier which is remote from its pivotpoint. The levers, in a pair are interconnected for movement in unisonwith one another through a pin "it extending from one of them through aclearance slot H in the other. Thus, pivotal movement of either of thelevers 57 will cause both upper contact carriers to be operated.

One of the levers 51 of the pair presents a cam surface for engagementwith switch opening finger 33 of the time dial (Figure 1). This cam isof such configuration that as it is engaged by the time dial finger 333during rotation thereof, the levers are depressed to cause downwardmovement of all of the contacts a distance sufficient to drive the ears53 of the lower contacts past the lower extremity of the lever 56 beforethe finger 38 reaches the end of the cam. As soon as the ears "c3 clearthe lower portion of the lever that lever is released to respond to theinfluence of the spring 62 and swing to a latched position with itslongitudinal clearance edges out of alignment with the cars. This actionoccurs before finger 38 has reached the end of the cam l2. Fhereafterthe finger 38 leaves the end of cam '52, the levers 57 are released andthe upper contacts spring upwardly under the influence of springs 52.However, at this moment the lower contacts are held in a latched andretracted position and the upper r 5 complete engagement.

6: contacts thus-' depart from themte: opens the switch.-

Furthenrotation' oi the dial next brings the closingfinger 39 intoengagement with the -extremity of'lever 5B; swinging it to move thelongitudinal-clearance edges thereof pastthe ears 63 thei-eby releasingthelower contacts so that they are free llOdl'iOVS into engagement withthe upper contacts for switch closure. In each of these .mcvenientsitis-t0 be noted that engagement 2nd disengagement of the electricalcontacts is y-sudden; tlwre is no gradual approach and of the contactstoward and'from one another'whereby arcing-could occur through in-Moreover, under spring n the impact'of'the contacts with oneanra-ngeinent,-relative to the slope of thecontact s2 aces, disposesthem in sliiftable positions when they engage one another and precludeshe contacts from occupying relatively shifted itions prior to" theirengagement.

While the in'vention has been disclosed in relation-toa'structure inwhich both the upper and the 10"ef'6011t80t3 of a pair are shiftable, itis to be einents wherein one of the contacts is sta- 'or unshiitablesince-it is the relative movement that provides the desired cleansingaction.

t electrical circuit disclosed'inthe draw- -termin'als 9 areinterconnected with contactsthroughleads M and '15 rey; and i? also aretaken thereto motor terminals. while the upper contacts are connectedwith the output terminals through leads l8 and 19.

By virtue of the adjustability of the control fingers and (it upon thetime dial they may be spaced apart from one another at various posv ionsabout the entire periphery of the time dial to control switch closingand switch opening at any given time throughout the cycle of rotation.Moreover, while the contacts move as they are being conditioned to open,still this movernnet does not aifect the moment when the con tactsseparate, nor impair the accuracy of the aduscnent. It will be seen thatfor this reason -'he levers 55 and 5? need not be made to precise-i2nensions and can be fabricated inexpensively :om simple sheet metalparts.

Having described my invention, I claim:

An electric circuit controller comprising a otatable member, an electricpower drive for rotating said member at a fixed speed, said rotatablemember having switch opening and switch closing actuating elements.adjustably associated theewith, a latch operated by one of saidelements, a lever operated by the other of said elem nts, and a pair ofcontacts biased against lever movement and movable by said lever inunison for moving one of the contacts to a position where it is engagedand held in a switch open position by said latch and for thereafterreleasing the r augments the 1 abrading action which is withrespect tothe' langitudinal path other of said contacts, one of the contacts ofthe pair being shiftable in a direction lateral tothe ing elementsadjustably associated therewith, a

latch operated by one of said elements, a lever operated by the other ofsaid elements, a pair of slidable contacts, said switch opening leverbeing arranged to move said contacts in unison whereby one of saidcontacts is engaged and held in a switch open position by said latch,one of said contacts of the pair being loosely shiftable in a directionlateral to the path of movement through which it is operated by saidlever, one of the contacts of the pair presenting to the other a face ofgenerally angular configuration, whereby relative lateral displacementbetween the contacts is efiected upon their engagement under pressure,and biasing means for providing displacement pressure coincidental withengagement of the contacts.

3. An electric circuit controller comprising a rotatable member, anelectric power drive for rotating said member, said rotatable memberhaving switch opening and switch closing actuating elements adjustablyassociated therewith, a latch operatedby one of said elements, a leveroperated by the other of said elements, a pair of contacts slidable bysaid lever in unison for moving one of the contacts to a position whereit is engaged and held in a switch open position by said latch, one ofsaid contacts of the pair being loosely shiftable in .a, directionlateral to the path of movement through which it is operated by saidlever, one of the contacts of the pair presenting to the other a face ofgenerally angular configuration, whereby relatively lateral displacementbetween the contacts is eifected upon their engagement under pressure,and biasing means,

:able upon substantially parallel axes, a latch,

common to one contact of each pair for holding said contact inswitch-open position, means including the second contact of each pairfor driving the first contact of each pair to latching position, saidmeans also including levers, one for each pair of contacts in engagementwith the second contact thereof and being movable in unison, and atiming mechanism for actuating said levers and for actuating said latch.

5. An electric circuit controller comprising; at least two pairs ofcontacts arranged in side by side relationship and all slidable, meansfor biasing all of the contacts in one direction, a pair of leversmovable in unison straddling the pairs of contacts and the said leversrespectively engaging one cont-act of each pair for moving the contactsin an oppositedirection, a latch common to the other contact of eachpair for holding the said other contacts in switch-open positionsagainst said biasing means, means including said levers for driving allcontacts toward latching position pair, and means for releasing saidlatch.

EDWIN W. LANDMEIER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the I file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Number Gillette Apr. 29, 1941

